Active Living Resource Center

Welcome to the Active Living Resource Center (ALRC). We're here to help you make your neighborhood a more physically active place by making it more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

There's no reason for you to "reinvent the wheel." The ALRC web site provides lots of resources used by others to make positive changes in their communities. In the Library and across the site you'll find brochures, how-to documents, and other resources that can help you make a your neighborhood and community a better place to live and work.The Resource Center staff is always ready to help you solve your specific challenges.

New Resources • Active Facts: Ramps & Channels to Link Bikes & Trains In communities where bicyclists have been allowed to take their bicycles on transit, there is often a daunting barrier: stairs. But in a growing number of communities, transit agencies have solved the problem by installing small ramps at the sides of the stairs. With these, bicyclists can take the stairs and roll their bikes up and down at their sides. While ramps don't solve all problems, they can do one thing pretty well! In this Active Fact brochure, you'll learn what they are and how they can help bicyclists "get there from here." Download it here. | 527KB • Creating a RoadMap for Producing & Implementing a Bicycle Master Plan | PDF File 1.1MB • How Garfield, NJ, Got Its Kids Moving And Eating Better: Garfield is a small city in Bergen County, New Jersey that has made big steps towards creating an active, healthy community. A collaboration of Garfield’s local government, schools, the local Y, the parks and recreation department and area higher education institutions—all coordinated by the Garfield health department—has been working since 2005 to create opportunities for Garfield’s children and families to be more physically active and eat more healthily. Download it here. | 817KB • Neighborhood Safety - English Version | PDF 600KB - Spanish Version | PDF 638KB - How To Request Artwork for Neighborhood Safety brochure. • Utah Bicycle Commuter Guide: A well-done guide for bicycle commuters with lots of ideas for your own community's guide to leaving the car at home for short commute trips. From the Utah Department of Transportation. Download it here. | 724KB • Assessing Recess: A new survey from Sports4Kids (sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) shows that Americans generally agree that school recess is in peril and that life-long habits and skills that affect the health and development of children form on the playground. Download it here. | 650KB • Smart Talk for Growing Communities -- Using study circles to meet  the challenges of growth and development. From the Congressional Exchange. Download it here. | 178KB

 

Most Popular Downloads

1) Kids Physical Activity: 10 Really Good Reasons Exercise is Important For Your Child

• English Version | PDF 789KB
• Spanish Version | PDF 4.2MB
• How To Request Artwork for Kids Physical Activity brochure.

2) Bicycle Safety: What Every Parent Should Know

• English Version | PDF 820KB
• Spanish Version | PDF 1.1MB
• How To Request Artwork for Bicycle Safety brochure.

3) Community Assessment Tool: The NCBW has been developing a set of indicators to help define and monitor progress towards making communities more bicycle-friendly and walkable.
Download it here. (PDF Format | 146KB)

4) Active Facts: Complete Streets for Active Communities Make your streets meet the needs of all transportation users.
Download it here | PDF File 242KB

5) Good Practices Guide for Bicycle Safety Education (FHWA) The purpose of the Good Practices Guide is to serve as an informational
resource for educators and other interested professionals in planning
and developing bicycle safety education programs.
Download it here. | PDF 442KB

6) Bike Lane Design Guide: To see how bike facilities can be integrated into a major city's street system, check out Chicago's Bike Lane Design Guide, created by the City in conjunction with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.
Download it here. | PDF 1.2MB

7) Pedestrian Facilities User Guide: The Pedestrian Facility Design section of the Federal Highway Administration's 2002 booklet, Pedestrian Facilities User Guide, has many details on recommended sidewalk widths and other design factors.
Download it here. | PDF 208KB

If you don't find what you're looking for, e-mail the ALRC staff at
info@activelivingresources.org and tell us what you need. We'll seek out
the information and post it so that others can benefit from the
resources as well.